In Taiwan, roadside banquets are a traditional way to hold weddings or funerals. But, with the recent COVID-19 pandemic, people are reluctant to organize or attend such large-scale events. Now, chefs that cook for roadside banquets are hardly making a living. However, one chef in Kaohsiung has come up with a creative solution to his financial woes.
Crispy duck and braised pork belly are just two of many popular dishes found at roadside banquets. That’s right -- “roadside.” In Taiwan, people set up tables and chairs on the side of the road, while a chef cooks in a makeshift kitchen off to the side.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the roadside banquet business has taken a substantial hit. People used to ask southern Taiwan’s Chef Hung Hui-hsiung to cook for hundreds of people at a time. But, over the past few months, he has hardly made any money from catering.
Chef Hung has now come up with a solution. He has set up a kitchen outdoors and started selling his food at a roadside stall. Though not as lucrative as banquets, Hung is receiving an average of one hundred orders a day over the phone. Some people even come from the other end of the island to purchase Hung’s food.
Hung said even though the government will ease quarantine restrictions next week, he expects it will take a few months for his catering business to return to normal. But, for now, it looks like the food of roadside banquets will survive the pandemic.